Rope-socket.



A. P. McBRIDE.

ROPE SOCKET.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 17. 1911 1,094,668. Patented Apr: 28, 1914.

'All I ALBERT P. MoBRmE, OF INDEPENDENCE, KANSAS.

RUPE-SQGKET.

nooeees.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 28, 19141.

Application filed March 17, 1911. Serial No. 615,118.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that If, ALBERT P. MCBRIDE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Independence, in the county of Montgomeryv and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rope-Sock ets, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to rope-sockets and is designed for use mainly in connecting a wire cable to a tool for drilling gas and oil wells, and my object is to produce means for attaching tools to ropes effectively and reliably.

A further object is to produce a socket which can be attached to a rope or cable easily, quickly and cheaply and by an ordinary workman without the use of any special tools or equipment.

A still further object is to produce a rope socket of simple, strong, durable and cheap construction.

With these objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel and peculiar features of construction and organization as hereinafter describecLand claimed; and in order that it may be fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1, is a central vertical section of a rope and socket embodying my invention. Fig. 2, is a horizontal section on the line ll1l of Fig. 1. Fig. 3. is a horizontal section on the line Ill-Ill of Fig. 1. Fig. 4, is a detail perspective view of the lower end of the rope or cable to illustrate the method by which it is formed with an upwardly tapering enlargement at its lower end.

Before proceeding with a detailed description of the socket .it is desired to state that the common method of attaching a socket to a r0 e is by the use of Babbitt metal which o course must be in fluid state when the connection is made, and which must be reduced to such condition to edect the removal of the socket from the rope or a piece of the same in the event the rope becomes injured or broken, these sockets being also objectionable because the rope'sometimes pulls out of the socket. This type of socket is furthermore undesirable because of the time required and the cost of the Babbitt metal, the cost for such metal usually amounting to four or five dollars.

Referring now to the drawings, 1 indicates the casing or shell of the socket, provided at its lower end with the customary threaded opening 2, which tapers upwardly and communicates with the lower end of an upwardly-tapering passage or bore 3.

4c is a cone to fit in the bore or passage 3 provided with an upwardly-tapering passage o. s 6 indicates a pair of semi-conical or upwardly-tapering slips or wedges to fit in the bore or passage 3 above the cone.

7 is a screw plug to engage the-upper or contracted end of the threaded opening 2,

such plug being provided with an angular socket 8 by which it may be turned to secure it in or remove it from operative position through the 'instrumentalit-y of any suitable tool, not shown.

9 is a coiled spring to fit within the bore or passage 3 and hear at its opposite ends against the upper side of the plug'7, and the lower end of the cone l.

The cable 10, which usually consists of a plurality of strands of steel wire twisted together, is formed at its lower end with an upwardly-tapering enlargement 11 to wedge tightly in the bore or passage 5 of cone 4. To produce such enlargement the strands of the cable are slightly separated near its lower end and bunches 12 of steel wires are threaded through the cable at the points where the strands are separated, as shown most clearly in Fig. 3. Below such bunches of wires the strands of the cable are bent back to their original positions and wires 13 are wound around the cable in order to bind the strands thereof tightly together, the preferred construction being to employa pair of wires 13 as shown, and below the binding wires 13, the strands are unwound,

and the wires composing the strands are separated as at 14, and then doubled back as indicated at 15 so as to produce an upwardly tapering enlargement or swell at the lower end of the cable. The doubled-back ends of the cable wires are then wrapped tightly by a wire 16, and the projecting ends of the bunches 12 of wires are bent downwardly upon the wire wrapping 16, asv

the cone the slips 6 are fitted in it andv around the cable so that as the socket is pushed farther downward on the cable it will slip over the cone and the slips will be pushed upward in the socket by engagement with the upper end of the cone until eventually the parts assume substantially the position shown in Fig. 1, it being obvious is that the greater the opposing pressure applied upon the wire and socket, the tighter the cable will wedge in the cone and the slips in the socket. When the parts are thus secured the spring 9 is fitted in the 1 lower end of the socket and the plug 7 is screwed therein so as to cause the spring to exert an upward pressure on the cone to prevent the slips and the cone from becoming loose in the event the tool, not shown,

15 screwed into the threaded opening 2, should becomestuck in the hole and the driller in,

the operation of the tool happens to impose such heavy work on his cable that it would tend to loosen the cone and slips.

The hcavv work reterred to occurs usually when the driller whips or snaps the ca ble to loosen the tool.

ln the event that one or more strands of the cable become injured it can be withdrawn and severed at the injured point.

The tool, plug and spring are then removed and the upper end of the slips tapped to drive them and the cone with the severed end of the cable, through the lower end of 7 i the socket so that the latter can be quickly instoes is not wedged in the cone, but by wedging such end in the cable. the connection is made so secure and firm that it is absolutely impossible for the cable to be withdrawn from the socket without breakage.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced an e'ihcient, reliable and inexpensive means for attaching tools to cables,-and while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, 1 wish it to be understood that it do not desire to be restricted to the exact details of construction shown and described except as may be required by the scope of the appended claim, as obvious modifications will suggest themselves to one skilled in the art.

liti

A rope socket, comprising a casing havtaining said spring and sleeve in said bore and leaving the outer end of said threaded portion open for the attachment of a tool.

lln testimony whereof ll affix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT P. MoBRlDlE. lVitnesses THOMAS F. MACDONALD, A. P. MolBnmn, J r. 

